Richard Leon Walker, son of John H. Walker and Ruth D. Brown (Lehner), was born on Sept. 23, 1934, in Cheney, and died on April 30, 2026.

Richard was baptized on Nov. 25, 1934, at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, rural Cheney, and confirmed on March 21, 1948, also at St. Paul’s, and was a member of Ascension Lutheran Church in Wichita, at the time of his death.

Richard grew up in Cheney and attended Cheney schools, graduating from high school in 1952. His first job was delivering The Grit, a weekly newspaper. As an eighth grader, he worked for Harry and Esther Conner in their Firestone store. When Clyde Branine opened his café, The Feed Bag in 1948, Richard went to work there as a dishwasher. He worked for Clyde for the next five years. 

In 1952, he attended Concordia Teacher College in Seward, Neb. After one semester, he returned to Cheney and Clyde’s restaurant. He then went to work at Boeing Airplane Company. From 1957 to 1959, he served with the U.S. Army. He worked at Pipkin Chevrolet a short time before attending Friends University in 1960. He received a B.S. in elementary education in 1964. While attending Friends he worked as an orderly at the Sedgwick County Hospital.

After graduating from Friends, he attended Wichita State University, receiving a master’s degree in education in 1966. In 1964, he began his teaching career teaching sixth grade at Peterson Elementary and Hadley Middle School in Wichita, retiring in 1994. He loved running into his former students and colleagues.

Richard was united in marriage to Margaret (Marty) Schimming Unruh on Dec. 24, 1970, at Ascension Lutheran Church, Wichita. They had a happy life together in Wichita and enjoyed church activities, square dancing, traveling and gatherings with their precious friends. Many beautiful memories were made when they built a summer home in Cuchara, Colo., after retirement in 1995. The friendships they have had throughout the years have been amazing and blessed. Richard and Marty lived in Wichita until Marty became a resident of the Cheney Golden Age Home in June 2016, and Richard moved back to Cheney in September 2016 to live closer to Marty. After Marty passed, Richard then relocated back to Wichita, where he resided at Oxford Senior Villa and made many new friends.

Richard served his Lord through teaching Sunday School and as Sunday school superintendent at St. Paul’s in Cheney and as congregational vice president, secretary, lay minister, financial secretary and usher at Ascension.

Preceding him in death were his parents; his wife, Margaret; brothers, Denny and Donald; brother-in-law, Glenn Cummins; sisters-in-law, Ruth Baney and Sondra Schimming; and great-grandson, Blaike Unruh.

Surviving family members include son, Craig (Valerie) Unruh; daughter, Nancy (Don) Pyle; his grandchildren, Kenny (Heather) Unruh, Katie Unruh, Sara (Shawn) Dahbour, Alan Pyle and David (Alexandra) Pyle; great-grandchildren, MaKenna Unruh, Isabella and Rina Yacoub, Winston and Camden Dahbour, and Vivienne Pyle; sister, Peggy Walker Cummins; brother-in-law, Victor Schimming; and a host of relatives and friends.

Public visitation will be held at Resthaven Mortuary, 11800 W. Highway 54, Wichita, on Friday, May 15, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Funeral service will be held at Ascension Lutheran Church, 842 N. Tyler Rd., Wichita, at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16. Interment will follow at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, 35100 W. Harry St., Cheney.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established with Ascension Lutheran Church, 842 N. Tyler Rd., Wichita, KS 67212.